Winter skills & mountaineering 2018

Scottish winter skills & winter mountaineering courses

Winter in the Scottish winter mountains demands winter skills and experience to travel safely and to get the most from the fantastic days out that they offer. Mountain Motion can help you aquire these winter skills and practice them under expert guidance. The aim is to take your current abilities and develop them so that you can tackle more challenging winter routes safely. We also offer guided expeditions and classic winter routes. Scottish Winter climbing courses and Scottish ice climbing courses are also available.

All courses assume some summer walking / mountaineering experience. Courses vary in difficulty and previous mountaineering and scrambling experience is necessary in some cases. We will advise and discuss this with you.

Browse through the winter skills and mountaineering courses that we offer, detailed below. If you have any questions please contact us. Remember, we are also available for bespoke guiding and private coaching and guiding

Our winter courses are based here in Fort William. We can help you arrange accommodation for the course. We will provide transport during the course and will pick you up in the morning and drop you off when we get off the hill. We can provide equipment hire if required.

To book on a course we would prefer you to drop us a line or give us a ring to discuss so we can make sure you get the right course for you.

Winter walking skills

A three day course focusing on gaining the essential winter skils. Crampon and axe work as well as snow and avalanche awareness is covered. The second and third days are spent putting it all together on classic winter walks.

Winter Mountaineering

A five day course taking the basic winter skills and developing them to tackle more challenging routes. The skills to tackle classic gradeI/II gullies and ridges will be looked at. Ropework and winter belays will form an important part of the course as well as personal competance on steep ground. The ascent of some classic routes will be undertaken. Maximum ratio is 1:4

Skye ridge in winter

This is the most demanding winter expedition in the UK. Conditions are fickle on Skye and the best time for an attampt is usually towards the end of February. Winter climbing experience is essential. Max ratio 1:2

Some advice about instructors and guides in the winter

There are quite a few people and companies who advertise themselves as guides and advertise courses for which they do not hold the recognised national qualifications. Particularly in the Winter around Ben Nevis and Glencoe! Its worth asking who will be taking you out and what are their qualifications.

The basic qualification to lead people in the Winter mountains is the Winter Mountain leader award. This is not a coaching award and it is suitable for led walks and teaching basic, technical winter skills. Teaching these winter skills should be done 'in passing', when journeying about the hill with a group rather than in a formal structured way. As such, running formal structured winter skills and avalanche courses is beyond the scope of the Winter ML Award. It is also not appropriate for roped winter mountaineering or climbing.

For dedicated formal structured winter skills and avalanche courses, winter mountaineering and winter climbing the appropriate qualification is either the MIC (Mountaineering Instructor Certificate) or a BMG (British Mountain Guide).